The Meaning Behind The Name

The name surprisingly comes from sea turtles. When hatchlings make their way from their nest on the beach to the ocean, we have little knowledge about where they go and what they do for the first 5-10 years of their lives. Eventually they return to coastal coral reefs and seagrass patches to feed and we can begin tracking their behaviors and whereabouts with ID and satellite tags. Researchers have deemed the unknown years of intense survival as the turtles ‘lost years’. I had first learned about this from the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group when I applied to intern with them for the summer. Unfortunately, COVID-19 shut the program down, I graduated and moved away. When we had our list of names we were considering before we found the boat, nothing quite stuck with us. We were leaning slightly towards Batabano, because it also relates to sea turtles but as an added bonus signifies Theo’s connection to Cayman. I briefly mentioned “lost years” as a name idea for our boat and it immediately stuck. Our love for and history with sea turtles runs deeper than the Mariana Trench. 

Believe it or not, Theo’s grandfather founded the first turtle farm in Grand Cayman in 1968. At the time, sea turtles were nearly extinct throughout the Caribbean. Historically, Cayman had so many turtles the Spanish explorers named it Las Tortugas (which literally just means turtles in Spanish) so his grandfather and partners hoped it meant they could find success there. They raised turtles in captivity to harvest their meat, as well as shells for jewelry and furniture. The national dish of Cayman is still Turtle Stew today, although it’s difficult to find on the island now. They also released many turtles into the wild and made discoveries about the turtles reproductive cycles. This agricultural venture, which was called Mariculture, surprisingly contributed positively to the rising green sea turtle population numbers we see today. Unfortunately the farm was losing too much money, so it was bought by the government and is now known as the tourist friendly Cayman Turtle Centre. Growing up on the island, Theo spent most of his days diving and snorkeling with turtles. It wasn’t until he met me and we moved to the island together that his appreciation for turtles, and all wildlife, grew even deeper.

I had the privilege to volunteer with the Department of Environment’s Sea Turtle Nest Monitoring Program for the last two summers which was truly life changing. Being that I missed out participating in a similar program while I was in college in Florida, I could not have been more grateful for everything I learned and experienced with the DoE turtle team. I could genuinely spend hours, if not days, happily talking about sea turtles. My love for being in the sand and the ocean grew infinitely during this time. I assisted with locating nests on the beach, relocating at-risk nests, excavating nests, and collecting as much data as possible. The happiest place I could be on the island was about 2 feet under the sand covered in turtle egg juices while baking in the sun. The feeling of helping to conserve an endangered species energized me and helped to get me through what was otherwise a very difficult time in my life. 

It is illegal to touch or harm turtles & turtle nests. All work pictured was done under the authority of the Cayman Islands Department of Enviroment.

I think the name “Lost Years” signifies many things for us; our history with sea turtles, but it’s also a reminder of the years that we lost waiting and waiting to start this dream, and the fact that we are quite literally heading out to sea as the hatchlings do. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to us to never wait for anything in life, but to chase it with all our hearts. We also romanticize the castaway life, so the idea of being lost and isolated from the rest of the world is enticing to us in ways that we know others simply cannot understand. 

Since we lived on a very active nesting beach in Cayman, we were so fortunate to witness firsthand some incredible natural phenomenons. We saw a few female loggerheads nesting on the beach at night and several live hatches with hundreds of babies running down the beach. Witnessing the tiny creatures dash fearlessly towards the unknown without a second thought inspired us to finally set sail into what will hopefully be our greatest adventure yet. May our 'lost years' at sea be some of the most meaningful, profound years of our lives!

— Jordan Farrow